Method of pressing cheese



Dec. 27, 1949 R. MIOLLIS 2,492,878

METHOD OF PRESSING CHEESE Original Filed Nov. 9, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 119'49 R. MIOLLIS 2,492,87

METHOD OF PRESSING CHEESE Original Filed Nov. 9-, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 2R. MIOLLIS METHOD OF PRESSING CHEESE Dec. 27, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 3Original Filed Nov. 9, 1944 I my a m .j m

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5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed Nov. 9, 1944 frzdzz 107". 77ZOIIC/17101115 Dec. 27, 1949 R. MIOLLIS METHOD OF PRESSING CHEESE 5Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Nov. v9, 19 4 Patented Dec. 27, 1949UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF PRESSING CHEESE Raymond Miollis,Maywood, Ill.

Original application November 9, 1944, Serial No. I 562,577. Divided andthis application Septemher 4, 1946, Serial No. 694,728

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a method of pressing cheese, and moreparticularly to a method of pressing facilitating the handling of longcheese forms. I

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 562,577filed November 9, 1944.

One feature of this invention is that it provides an improved method ofhandling cheese in forms on a cheese press; another feature of thisinvention is that the cheese forms may be very conveniently lifted on toand off of the press bed; still another feature of this invention isthat the cheese forms and cheese therein may be readily and convenientlyhandled and worked upon between successive pressing; yet another featureof this invention is that various handling steps in the processing ofthe cheese being pressed, as inverting it, rewrapping it and the like,may all be conveniently performed without removal of the d cheese or itsform from the press; and yet a further feature of this invention is thatmy im proved pressing methods permit what might be termed continuousmovement of the cheese through the pressing stages, greatly speeding upthis phase of cheese making and considerably reducing the labor costsheretofore associated therewith. Other features and advantages of thisinvention will be apparent from the following pressing arrangement beingshown; Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, but with pressure beingapplied to the cheese; Figure 3 is a fragmentary enlarged detail View ofa part of the upper portion of the press shown in Figure 2; Figure 4 isan enlarged fragmentary detail view of a part of the lower portion ofthe press shown in Figure 2; Figure 5 is a side elevational view of thepress as shown in Figure 2; Figure 6 is a plan view of the press asshown in Figure 5, along the line 6-5 of such figure, particularlyillustrating the arrangement of the pressing means; Figure '7 is ahorizontal sectional view along the line 1! of Figure 5; Figure 8 is aperspective view of one cheese form with the cover and cleats shownspaced from their operative position with respect to the remainder ofthe form; Figure 9 is a fragmentary detail sectional view through asingle form with- The present invention relates particularly to pressingmethods used in making natural cheese adapted to be sold to the ultimateconsumer in the form of relatively small packages, as dis5 tinguishedfrom the so-called processed cheese. In a process of the kind which Iemploy large batches of milk, as ten thousand pounds at a time, arecoagulated into cheese which is pressed and cured in relativelylarge-size blocks which are then cut up into small loaves or pieceswhich may be only half a pound or a pound each. I have made a number ofinventions in connection with apparatus and methods for making naturalcheese and have had a number of patents issued to me. thereon. One of myissued patents, No. 2,103,545 of December 28, 1937, gives a fulldescription of a complete process of the kind in which the press herebeing disclosed may be used. Accordingly, only a very brief descriptionwill be given here of a representative process and set of apparatus forthe complete cheese-making process, reference being made to the abovepatent to supplement the presentdisclosure in such regard.

The apparatus for the entire cheese-making process includes as itsprincipal elements a cheese vat, a molding vat, cheese molds or forms, acheese press, and curing, cutting and packaging arrangements. The cheesevat receives a substantial quantity'of milk and certain additives, andthese are then agitated and worked until cheese curd of the desired typeis formed, whereupon a substantial -proportion of the whey associatedwith such curd is drained. The'cheese curd and residual whey associatedtherewith may then be transferred to a molding vat where the curd hassubstantially all of the remaining whey drained therefrom and where someinitial pressing and compacting may be done to cause knitting of thecurds. The partially knit cheese in the molding vat may be then cut intorectangu- Jar blocks of uniform size and substantial length,

as extending the full .width of themolding vat, and these blocks maythen be pressed in the molds or forms and subjected to pressure in thepress. During the pressingoperation, as will become more apparent in thefuller description of. the press and pressing methods, the cheeseissubjected to certain handling between portions of the pressingprocedure. After the pressing is completed the blocks are cured inappropriate manner, generally on shelves in a cellar of the properhumidity and temperature, with such brushing, turning, or the like asmaybe appropriate. After the cheese has been cured for a suflicientperiod, as for example thirty days or more, the block is cut into loavesor bricks of the desired size, and packaged. The foregoing descriptionis intended to describe merely one complete process in which my improvedpress and pressing method may be used, so that the following descriptionof the part of the complete process to which this application isparticularly directed may be understood with reference to one completecheese-making process. My improved pressing methods to which thisapplication is di rected, however, can be readily used in any type ofcheese-making process where pressing is employed.

Cheese presses are of two general types, vertical and horizontal. Thepress shown in this application and that shown in my earlier Patent2,103,545 is of the vertical type, this type having a number ofadvantages and being the most widely used commercially. In this type thecheese forms containing the cheese which requires further compacting bypressure are piled in vertical columns and pressure is applied to thetop of the columns. All prior presses known to applicant have beenstructures with a base portion or press bottom on which the cheese ispiled, an upper portion including mechanical or hydraulic means forapplying pressure to the cheese, main supporting structure between theseportions (in the form of four main corner posts) and intermediate guidebars or rods rigidly or permanently attached to the base and upperportions of the press. The cheese forms were piled in columns betweenthese rigid guide means, so that application of pressure to the top ofthe column would not cause dislodgment of the cheeses from the'desiredvertical column relationship, as by buckling of the column in themiddle, or the like. Some form of guide means is essential to maintainproper alignment of the forms during pressing of the cheese.

If cheese is to have good quality, howeventhe pressing cannot beperformed in a single step or operation, but should comprise a pluralityof successive pressing steps with certain handling operation of thecheese therebetween. The cheese may, for example, be initially pressedfor one or two hours. Then the pressure may be removed. the cheesesubjected to certain handling, and further pressed for anotherperiod, asovernight. The-cheese may then be again subjected to certain handlingand pressed for a further period, if desired, before being moved tozthecuring cellars. Thehandling intermediate pressing steps mayinvolveinverting the cheese within its form (by removing the cheese block,turning it upside down and again replacing it in the same form)inverting the cheese in its position in the vertical column (the topcheese in a given column becoming the bottom cheese in the column in thenext pressing operation and vice versa), and rewrap- 1 ping of thecheese, or any one or any combina After the ill) of handling cheesethereon which greatly reduces the time and labor cost involved inhandling cheese between pressing steps while retaining the desired highquality of the cheese. Briefly, the upper portion of my press issupported at at least one end and preferably at both ends by overheadsupporting means rather than by standards or posts rising from the baseportion; and the guide means for the cheese columns are so constructedand arranged as to be readily removable from the press. As a result, allor any desired portion of the press is adapted to provide completelyfree and unimpeded space for the handling of the cheese forms. With apress of the kind shown in the accompanying drawings, the cheese formsmay be readily lifted on to one end of the press, directly over the endof the press by a man at each end of the form, with nothing to impedethe operation. When a column of cheese forms has been provided in thedesired location, the press provides guide means preventing dislodgmentor buckling of the column during pressing, but this guide means may bemoved out of the way at the end of the first pressing step so that thecheese may be handled and repiled rapidly and without a hindrance, righton the press, by workmen standing on each side of the press. Moreover,the cheese may go through successive pressing and handling stages uponsuccessive por-' tions of the press, so that now cheese may becontinuously (at appropriate periods, of course) moved on to one end ofthe press and completely pressed cheese moved off the other end of thePress.

In the particular embodiment of my invention illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, a press is shown comprising a lower base orbottom portion A and an upper or top portion B. The base, as may be seenfrom reference to Figures 1 and 7, may comprise a bottom framework oftransverse members Illa and 10b and longitudinal" members llad,supported at an appropriate height from the floor, as fifteen inches, bya supporting framework which may comprise legs l2 and braces 13. Thelowermost cheese forms of each vertical column rest upon thelongitudinal members Ila--d. 'The upper portion B of the press is'hereshown (referring more particularly to Figures 1 and 6) as alsocomprising a rectangular frame, although preferably of metal in thiscase. This frame may comprise transverse members Ma and Nb andlongitudinal members l5a-d. This framework carries the pressing means,here shown as mechanical, and the means for holding the upper ends ofthe guide members to be hereafter described; and the frame itself iscarried by overhead supporting means here shown as rods I Be and [61)attached to the Ceiling !1. While this overhead supporting means is hereshown as an attachment to a ceiling of the room in which the press isused, it will be understood that my invention contemplates any kind ofsupporting means wherein the support for the upper portion does not risedirectly from the base portion of the press, the term overheadsupporting means being intended broadly enough to cover the use ofvertical columns in the room sufficiently spaced from the bed of thepress to permit men to work freely all around that bed, with an overheadhorizontal beam carried by the columns and in turn carrying the upperportion B of the press, it being understood that such an arrangementwould not be necessary unless the ceiling were incapable of supportingthe strain imposed by hanging one or more press upper portionstherefrom.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 1, the pressing means for asingle vertical column of cheese forms, as, that shown in Figure 1,comprises two parts designed to distribute the pressure uniformly acrossthe length of the cheese forms. vOne part may comprise a lever member19a having one end pivotally'connected to the upper framework by a linkl9b, and an intermediate portion pivotally connected to a presser rodI90 vertically slidable in a guide tube l9d rigidly mounted on the upperframe. The foot of the presser rod He is adapted to press against ablock in turn resting on two cleats which deliver the pressure to theleft-hand half of the cover of the top form, speaking with respect tothe position of the parts as shown in Figure 1. The other half of thepressure means for the first column of cheese is identical butoppositely arranged on the upper frame, comprising the parts 290-!)operating to press the other end of this column. As may be best seenfrom Figures 5 and 6, the sets of presser arrangements l9-42 inclusivehave their levers disposed at a slight angle, as fifteen or twentydegrees, to a line transverse of the press in order that the two presserrods of each set may lie in the same transverse plane. The pressingmeans are shown in inoperative position in Figure 1, with the free endsof the levers held up by any appropriate means, as the braces l9e andMe. When it is desired to apply pressure to the cheeses these braces areremoved and appropriate weights, as the weights I91 and 207, hung on theouter ends of the levers. By pivoting the levers at the sides of theupper frame rather than in the center thereof, and by arranging thelevers angularly in the manner best shown in Figure 6, the desiredpressing leverage may be achieved without extending the ends of thelevers inconveniently far beyond the sides of the upper frame.

Extending between the upper and lower portions of the press, and adaptedto lie between adjacent columns of cheese forms to provide guide meanstherefor during pressing, are pairs of guide members, the members 49 and50 being shown in 1 Figures 1 and 2 and one each of certain succeedingpairs being best seen in Figure 5, these being identified as 50, 52, 54,etc. The particular guide members shown comprise 2 x 2 inch pieces ofwood, and they are adapted to be related to the upper and lower portionsof the press in such manner as to be very quickly and easily placed inor removed from operative guiding position. Inasmuch as all of theholdin arrangements are duplicates, only the holding or attachmentarrangement associated with the guide member 49 will be described,reference being had particularly to Figures 3 and 4. The upper end ofthe guide member 49 is adapted to be slipped between the body portionsof two bolts 49d, and 4% (see Figure 5 for the showing of the positionof the latter) fastened in the upper frame member l5b. These boltsextend transversely of the press and are preferably so spaced that thedistance between the parallel body portions of the bolts is justslightly over the width of the upper end of the I guide member 49, sothat the same may be slipped between the bolts 49a and 49b, the largerdiameter of the heads of the bolts preventing the guide member fromcoming out between the ends thereon The lower end of the guide member 49is preferably provided with a reduced portion 49' adapted to be receivedwithin the socket provided by a strap metal socket member 490 nailed orotherwise permanently fastened to the bottom frame member Ila. Thearrangement of successive guide members, and these lower holding inFigure 3, then swinging the lower end in until the reduced portion 49'is directly over the socket provided by the member 490, and dropping it,therein. Similarly, a guide member may beveasily removed when desiredmerely by lifting up its lower end,; swinging it out, and then droppingthe whole guide member down until its upper end has pulled out frombetween the bolts designed to hold theupper end in operative positionduring pressing,

Fromthe foregoing description of the base and,

upper portions of the press, the overhead support for the upperportion,' and the guide members and their method of attachment, it willbe. readily; apparent that the ends and any desired intermediate portionof the press can be readily cleared of guide members and will thenprovide a completely open space for unhindered han-' therein will bebriefly described, this form being identified with a reference numeraldifferent from that of any shown in Figures 1-7 and hereafter described.The form shown in Figures 8-10 and being identified in general as 11comprises a bottom 11a, side members Nb and He, end members 11d and Tie(these latter being provided with handles for convenience in re,

moving the forms) and a cover block 11 the latter being adapted to beassociated with cleats Hg-'72, The side and end pieces are preferablyformed in one unit and made removable from the bottom piece forconvenience in sterilizing the formsat intervals asexplained more fully.in my heretofore mentioned patent; and the, top member 11 is arelatively thick piece.

adapted to telescope Within the rectangular framework provided by theside and end members of the form, as shown in Figures 9 and 10.

Av block of partially knit cheese removed from the moldingvat would beinitially laid in the form, with cheese cloths therearound if desired,and then the top block 111 would be laid thereon. The cheese clothwould, as shown (in Figures 9 and 10, have its ends folded across thetop of the cheese block before the top member 11 was laid thereon.

top of the cleats and the position of the parts as they would be aftersome compacting of the cheese under pressure.

Referring now to Figures 14, it will be seen that the press is adaptedtohold a large number of cheese forms analogous to that just, described.in vertical columns here illustrated as compris- It will be readilyapparent that the Figure 9 shows the parts with the cheese in the formand one block on top of the cleats, with no pressure as yet applied;while Figure 10' shows two blocks on pend upon the relative size of theforms as compared with the distance between the upper and lower portionsof the press. In the particular press-shown the forms are about teninches wide by fifty-four inches long by six inches deep,

speaking in terms of external dimensions. The

first column of forms at the left-hand end of the press (speaking withrespect to the position of theparts as shown in Figure is hereidentifled as 18a--g; the next column comprises the forms Ilia-g; thenext comprises the forms Bow-g, etc. While the amount of cheese made ina single batch and the number of forms in which it will be held duringpressing would depend upon the proportions desired between the variousapparatus, in the particular press being illustrated it may beassumedthat one batch of cheese coagulated in the cheese vat and molded in themolding vat would be just held by the 24 forms comprising columns 18-8!inclusive, an earlier batch being just held by the next set of formscomprising the columns 82-85, inclusive. The ease of handling and thesocalled continuous" type of operation which may be performed on mypress is' best explained by assuming that two batches of cheese are inplace on the press as illustrated in Figure 5. The left-hand batch willbe just completin the first period of pressing after it has beenbroughton to the press from the molding vat. The cheese in the secondgroup of forms, to the right, may be considered to have just completeditssecond period of pressing, and to have undergone an earlier period ofpressing on the left-hand side of the press and an intermediate handlingoperation. The cheese in the second set of forms is now ready to undergofurther handling and to be placed in position for its final pressingoperation. The weights associated with the pressing means for the column85 have been removed'and the levers placed up so that this pressingmeans is inoperative. It is assumed that the top form 85a has beenlifted off the pile, that its cheese has gone through any desiredhandling operations and been replaced therein, and this form 85a isshown as the hottom of a pile at the right-hand'end of the press.

The next form 85b is shown as having'been removed from the column 85 andplaced on a small handlin table 88'having a bottom portion adapted torest on the bed of the press and an upper portion lying at a convenientheight for the workmen, as about waist high. The form 851; is placedthereon and the cover removed,

whereupon the cheese block therein may be lifted out of the form,rewrapped if desired,'and' placed back therein upside down. The cover isthen placed back in position and the form would be placed on top of theform 85a. already shown in position on the right-hand column, withappropriate cleats between the cover of theform 85 and the bottom of theform 85!). These cleats, of course, are used tov enable the cover memberof the lower form to be pressed down further into its form than wouldotherwise be possible; and if the cover has already gone down into theform so deeply that one clcat is not sufficient to provide space betweenthe top of the side walls of the lower form and thepart of the formimmediately above it, a second row of cleats is laid on top of the,first row; In. any event there. is preferably half aninch to. an inchspace between each of. the.

forms at. thelbeginning of any pressing. operation. Thecheese ispreferably inverted both within its own form and with respect to itsrela-- tive position in the vertical columns between each pressingoperation, although sometimes only one of these two inversions is used,the term invert being hereafter used, unless specifl-- cally qualified,in the broad sense to include either or both "turn-over inversions ortop-- to-bottom inversions.

After the form 851) has been placed on the form 85a the form 850 wouldbe picked up-from the position shown in solid lines and placed on thehandling table 88, where it would undergo the desired handlingoperations and then be placed on top of the form 8512. This operationwould be continued until all of the forms in the row 8 were moved to thefurthest right-hand end of the press and piled thereon, the form 85gbecoming the top form. The guide members would then be placed inposition to the right of this last column and immediately to the leftthereof, the handling table 88 would be moved to the left the distanceof one row, and the guide members 65 and 66 would be removed from thepress. Then the column of forms 84 would be similarly worked upon, thecheeses therein being inverted, preferably also rewrapped, and a newcolumn built up in the next to the last column to the right of thepress. Guide members would be placed in position just in front of thiscolumn, the guide members 63-and 64 would be removed, and the nextcolumn handled and repiled. When this procedure was completed thecolumns of forms 82- 85 would have undergone the desired handlingintermediate pressing operations and would be stacked in the last fourpositions to the right of the press. Then blocks would be placed on topof the cleats on the uppermost forms of each 01-- these columns and thepressing means rendered operative by removing the holding means thereforand hanging weights on the ends of the levers.

By this time the handling table 88 will be a row or two to the right ofthe column of forms 8i. The guide members 51 and 58 would then beremoved, the handling table placed just next to the column of forms BIand this column handled and repiled, as for example in the positionshown as occupied by the column of forms 84 in Figure 5. Succeedingcolumns would be handled and repiled so that the column 8| would beinverted, possibly also rewrapped, and in the position now occupied bythe column of forms Bl; the cheese in the column of forms would behandled and repiled in the position now occupied by the forms of thecolumn 83, etc, until all of the cheeses in the first group of forms hadbeen handled and repiled. The pressing means would then be renderedoperative to give this group of cheeses its second pressing operation.

Cheeses which had just been molded in the molding vat would then bewrapped and placed in another set of forms, not shown,'and swung up overthe end of the press and piled in columns in the positions shown asoccupied by the columns l8--8I, with guide members being placedbetweeneach column, of course. Inasmuch as the guide members are not in placewhen the new cheese forms are being brought on to the press,'.. workmenat each end of the form can conven-w iently swing it up over the end ofthe press and:

run it down to the desired position in which it. is to be piled. Afterthe new-set of forms has been properly piled, with guide means between.eachcolumn, the pressing means would be ten-u dered operative. The wholepress might remain under pressure for an appropriate period, and theworkmen would then remove the guide members and cheese forms from theright-hand end-of the press, taking them to the curing cellars or to asalting vat prior to the curing cellars, these forms being readily swungoff of the right-hand end of the press when the guide members areremoved. After the forms holding this last batch of cheeses had beenremoved the handling table could be placed on the press and the set ofcheeses then in the middle of the press inverted and repiled in themanner which has been described. Similarly, the cheeses at the left-handend of the press would be inverted and repiled in the central portion.Then the empty forms would be filled with cheese blocks, as soon as theywere ready in the molding tank, and placed on the left-hand end of theform. It will be readily apparent that my pressing apparatus and methodprovides the type of pressing and handling necessary for good qualitynatural cheese, while at the same time minimizing the pressing spacerequired and very greatly reducing the time and labor cost involved inhandling the cheese between pressing steps.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, itis to be understood that it is capable of many modifications. Changes,therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A method of handing cheese, including: putting the cheese of a batchin forms; piling these cheese forms in vertical columns on a portion ofa cheese press; expressing whey from the cheese by a plying pressure tothe cheese in the forms in such columns for a certain period; moving thecheese forms from said columns and piling them in other vertical columnson another portion of the press. all without removing the cheese formsfrom the press; putting the cheese of a second batch in a second set offorms; piling these last mentioned cheese forms in vertical columns onthe first mentioned portion of the press; and expressing whey fromcheese in the second batch by applying pressure to the cheese in theforms in all the columns for a certain period.

2. A method of handling cheese, including: putting the cheese of a batchin forms; piling these forms in vertical columns on a portion of acheese press; expressing whey from the cheese by applying pressure tothe cheese in the forms in such columns for a certain period; invertingthe cheese and piling the cheese forms in other vertical columns onanother portion of the press, all without removing the cheese from thepress; putting the cheese of a second batch in a second set of forms;piling these last mentioned cheese forms in vertical columns on thefirst mentioned portion of the press; and expressing whey from cheese inthe second batch by applying pressure to the cheese in the forms inallthe columns for a certain period.

3. A method of handling cheese, including: putting the cheese of a batchin forms; piling these cheese forms in vertical columns on a firstportion of a cheese press; expressing whey from the cheese by applyingpressure to the cheese in the forms in such columns for a certainperiod; inverting the cheese in each form and piling the cheese forms inother vertical columns on a second portion of the press, all withoutremoving the cheese from the press; putting the cheese of a second batchin a second set of forms; piling these last mentioned cheese forms invertical columns on the first mentioned portion of the press; expressingwhey from all the cheese by applying pressure to the cheese in all thecolumns for a certain period; inverting the cheese in the forms on thesecond portion of the press and piling them on a third portion of thepress, and inverting the cheese in the forms on the first portion of thepress and piling them on the second portion, all without removing thecheese from the press; putting the cheese of a third batch in a thirdset of forms and piling these last mentioned forms in vertical columnson the first portion of the press; and expressing whey from all thecheese by applying pressure to the cheese in the forms in all thecolumns for a certain period.

4. A method of the character claimed in claim 3, wherein the cheeses arerewrapped during at least one of said inversions.

5. A method of the character claimed in claim 1, wherein the forms aremoved between pressing position on the press and another stage in themanufacture of the cheese by lifting said forms over one end of thepress.

6. A method of the character claimed in claim 1, wherein the cheeseforms are quite long and adapted to lie transversely on a rectangularvertical press, and wherein forms are moved onto the press and betweenvarious positions on the press by force simultaneously but independentlyapplied to each end of the form being moved.

7. A method of the character claimed in claim 1, wherein the forms arerelatively quite long and. adapted to lie transversely on a rectangularpress, and wherein the forms are moved by force simultaneously butindependently applied to each end thereof.

RAYMOND MIOLLIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Miollis June 17, 1941 OTHER REFERENCESNumber Re. 21,834

